Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Loney, Dear and I got off on the wrong foot back then, as I made the mistake of viewing the rather disturbing video for 'I Am John' first. I was put off and decided to pass.

2 years and minus a comma later, Loney Dear's back with a new one. Luckily this time, the second first impression hits all the right chords.

'Airport Surroundings' is his new excellent single, in that it's properly catchy indie pop and also managed to, in risk of sounding cheesy, "pull my heart strings". The first listen was a bit manic with all the frantic layers, but soon all came together. The earnest lyrics demonstrated the quiet wreckage and the despair so well I half expected him to have a nervous breakdown at the end of the song. The moment the crescendo came, and the harmonies kicked in before the chorus was sung once more - Wow. So much emotion packed in just over 3 minutes. Can you imagine driving to this after a not-so-good day? My mouth was singing along, but my head hurt, in a good way. Had I heard this 2 years ago, I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much. I guess I'm at a different place now, and my taste expands with time. Sad, sad music for lonely nights.

Avoid the radio edit that reconstructs the song into the traditional verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. Fail. Just listen to the original in all its glory.

Loney, Dear and I got off on the wrong foot back then, as I made the mistake of viewing the rather disturbing video for 'I Am John' first. I was put off and decided to pass.

2 years and minus a comma later, Loney Dear's back with a new one. Luckily this time, the second first impression hits all the right chords.

'Airport Surroundings' is his new excellent single, in that it's properly catchy indie pop and also managed to, in risk of sounding cheesy, "pull my heart strings". The first listen was a bit manic with all the frantic layers, but soon all came together. The earnest lyrics demonstrated the quiet wreckage and the despair so well I half expected him to have a nervous breakdown at the end of the song. The moment the crescendo came, and the harmonies kicked in before the chorus was sung once more - Wow. So much emotion packed in just over 3 minutes. Can you imagine driving to this after a not-so-good day? My mouth was singing along, but my head hurt, in a good way. Had I heard this 2 years ago, I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much. I guess I'm at a different place now, and my taste expands with time. Sad, sad music for lonely nights.

Avoid the radio edit that reconstructs the song into the traditional verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. Fail. Just listen to the original in all its glory.

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